All About Us
by Teachthemhowtodream
Summary: Little pieces of Barney and Robin's wedding and what comes afterwards. Rated T to be safe, probably realistically going to be G or something.


AN: title from All About Us by He Is We ft. Owl City. I obviously don't own any of these characters :( The past - present tense switch was supposed to make sense, I hope it did. Also, I _know _even people licensed can't get themselves married. just pretend for the sake of the story? please? I'm sorry.

This hadn't been the plan. Granted, it hadn't been Marshall and Lily's plan either, and they spoke of it as their fondest memory.

We had never been the type for the big romantic gestures. I _tolerated_ them during my time with Ted, but even then I had been uncomfortable when he brought up the blue french horn. It was nice. It was Ted. It wasn't me and it wasn't Barney and I usually couldn't be happier.

15 minutes ago Ted tried to give me a locket. It should've been harder to kill the hope in his eyes. It should've been harder to say, "I don't need something old. My something new is everything I could want," but it was easy. Anger flashed across his face momentarily and I knew he was blaming himself, blaming Barney, never blaming me.

He should have blamed me. I can handle my past.

I was upset after my conversation with Ted. It's my wedding day and he's selfish, selfish, selfish. This is mine and my fiancée's and I'm sorry, Ted, but that isn't you. I love you, but I _love_ him.

5 minutes ago Barney walked in and wrapped his arms around me from behind and said I look beautiful. If anyone had been there they would probably have pointed out that he isn't supposed to see me in my wedding dress, but I didn't care. They would even have been surprised to discover that Barney was capable of being kind (sometimes I'm not sure they even believe he loves me) but he is. Sometimes he is.

I started crying. I know that isn't uncommon on wedding days but I didn't think I would cry. It's not really my thing, but when the crying started he didn't let go.

He loosened his hold on me so I could turn around in his arms. I leaned my cheek against his chest and he leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"You wanna get out of here?"

It made me smile - I'm sure he knew it would - and I thought about how impossibly far we'd come, how many hundreds of girls he's said those exact words to in a very different context.

And I told him yes again. Yes, I want to get away from here, away from the things I should love most, from my wedding and my friends. I was afraid for a moment that he would think I was saying yes to saying no - that I wasn't ready to marry him.

I was.

He pulled away and took my hand and when I saw his face I knew he understood.

I told him what happened with Ted as we walked to the only place we could be fairly sure no one would find us; some colorful bridge we passed on the way to our wedding venue. It comes into sight and he squeezes my hand tighter, pulls me faster, until we've pushed through the trees and foliage and we're standing under a tree loaded with Spanish moss. We both know Barney is licensed to marry, and I suppose he could get us married right there on the bridge.

I could be impulsive, but instead I think of Lily and how she would smile when I told her about the wedding on the bridge but inside she'd be thinking about her own secret wedding and the fact that _she_ brought her friends.

Maybe she wouldn't think that. Maybe she would be happy for us and not at all resentful. After all, she's not like me.

Barney looks at me and finally asks. "So, wanna pull a Marshall and Lily? Get married twice? Or was it three times for them?"

"No." I surprise myself with my answer. "I want to marry you once. I want to marry you in the wedding we planned together for months and I want to forget I ever said yes to another man. I want to be decisive for once in my damn life, because for once I know what I want. After all the shit we've been through, we deserve each other, and I want you. I want to marry you once and for all, Barney. Forever. And for the first time I can honestly say that this - us - doesn't scare the shit out of me."

Barney is speechless. I feel like the next few moments are endless before he finally pulls me into his arms and kisses me, not exactly passionately, but sweetly, and he tells me he loves me over and over like he's forgotten he's already said it.

For some reason it occurs to me in that moment that I'm in my wedding dress on a bridge and anyone could walk by and I _want_ them to. I want them to see us, see me at the happiest I've ever been, on my wedding day. I link arms with Barney when he finally stops kissing me (not that I was complaining) and pull him off the bridge in the direction of the wedding. Our wedding.


End file.
